Tonatiuh Mendoza - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Tonatiuh Mendoza

Journal of Coastal Research, 2013

A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and fl... more A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and flooding for the Yucatan coast is presented. Firstly, a 30-year wave hindcast is employed in order to characterize the coastal storms by creating a 5-class storm scale in terms of wave information. Subsequently, the storm classification is converted to one based on the consequences over 26 beach profile sections located along the Yucatan coast. The storm consequences were classified according to their flood and erosion potential by means of parametric and numerical model results which are correlated with key beach characteristics such as beach width and maximum beach height. According to the obtained results, the storms were characterized in five different categories and it was found that the Yucatan coast presents higher threat to flood than to erosion during the impact of storms.

Storms along the Catalonian coast previously classified in terms of their energy content are re-a... more Storms along the Catalonian coast previously classified in terms of their energy content are re-analyzed to take into account their erosion potential effects on the coast. This was done in two-step procedure. The first step consists in modeling their effects on two representative beach profiles by using SBEACH. The coastal response was characterized through two bulk erosion parameters, beach retreat and eroded volume. In the second step, the effort was devoted to look for a parametric way to estimate the storm erosion potential in such a way that by simply using synthetic information on storm characteristics, similar bulk erosion values to the obtained by using SBEACH be obtained. To do this, several beach profile change dimensionless predictors were tested. Although the use of some of these predictors gave reasonable predictions, it was found that the inclusion of the storm duration was a key variable to reduce the scatter in the response. Moreover, to properly reproduce reflective and dissipative beach profile erosion, predictors explicitly including beach slope have to be used. Here we propose to use the JA parameter multiplied by the storm duration. Using the JA t parameter a final 5-classes scale based on the erosion potential and beach retreat ranging from I (lowest erosion potential) to V (highest erosion potential) was obtained.

Coastal Engineering Proceedings, 2012

The Yucatan coastline has been experiencing beach erosion during the past few decades; the erosio... more The Yucatan coastline has been experiencing beach erosion during the past few decades; the erosion has reached critical points at some locations such as the Chelem beach, located near the Progreso Pier. Despite this problem, only few studies have been devoted in order to investigate the role of coastal structures on explaining the high erosion rates reported at this location. Therefore, the aim of this work is to evaluate the effects of the Progreso Pier on the wave transformation and alongshore sediment transport in the study area. Field surveys were conducted in a monthly basis in order to estimate the erosion rates and wave conditions with an ADCP installed at 8 m water depth. The field information confirmed the high erosional trends (O(1)m/year) that explain coastal infrastructure damage and property losses. The wave measurements were employed as the forcing of a wind-wave numerical model (MIKE 21 SW). The numerical model is implemented in the study area for two different scenar...

Coastal Engineering 2008, 2009

ABSTRACT Beach erosion occurs at a number of time scales and is commonly studied either in plan o... more ABSTRACT Beach erosion occurs at a number of time scales and is commonly studied either in plan or profile shape. The present state of the art has not paid enough attention to the effects of storm shapes on the resulting erosion. Issues such as the resulting erosion or profile shape as a function of wave storm shape, storm growth rate or decay rate, storm duration and storm direction have not been adequately solved. The aim of this paper is to examine the uncertainties in assessing beach erosion for the main wave storm features. This has included the definition of what is a wave storm, the calculation of statistical parameters from an inevitably limited storm sample and the dispersion in correlations between "main" variables such a storm duration and peak significant wave height during the storm. The performed morphodynamic calculations show a non-negligible sensitivity of eroded volumes and shoreline recession to wave and surge drivers, consistent with the present state of art.

Journal of Coastal Research, 2012

The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) consists of an international group of experts... more The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) consists of an international group of experts who work on the development of a range of bathymetric data sets and data products, with the aim of providing the most authoritative, publicly-available bathymetric grids for the world's oceans. GEBCO operates under the joint auspices of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. This document provides information on GEBCO's latest gridded product, the GEBCO_08 Grid. Find out more about GEBCO from our web site: www.gebco.net Inclusion of the Caspian Sea grid into the GEBCO_08 Grid The grid was sampled to 30 arc-second intervals using 'grdsample' from Generic Mapping Tools (GMT, http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/). Quality control checks were carried out on the data set, looking for artifacts in the gridded data. This was done by comparing the gridded data set with the source sounding and contour data. Any artifacts noted in the grid were removed.

Applied Ocean Research, 2013

ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the wave modeling performance in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Car... more ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the wave modeling performance in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean Sea employing three different wind reanalysis data. Wind reanalysis is employed as the main forcing in wave generation/propagation numerical models. While the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWFs) ERA-40 reanalyses have been previously assessed in the performance for wave modeling, ECMWF's ERA-interim and in particular NCEP's North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) are more recent reanalyses. They both provide better resolution and description of the wind fields and have not been evaluated for long-term wave modeling. Therefore, the aim of this work is the assessment of the three different wind reanalyses on the wave hindcast performance. Attention is drawn on the wind reanalysis capability for predicting both mean and extreme wave conditions during two different periods: (i) an anomalous year where cyclonic events dominate the extreme wave climate in the region (2005); and (ii) a year with the wave climate dominated by synoptic events (2006). A third generation wave model, forced by the different wind reanalysis data, is calibrated with National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoys observations. Wind reanalysis data allow a consistent implementation of third generation wave models in order to predict the mean wave climate (correlation coefficient ∼0.84 for NCEP/NCAR, 0.94 for ERA-interim, 0.92 for NARR) for applied ocean studies. Numerical results revealed that both ERA-interim and NARR improve the wave modeling performance with respect to NCEP/NCAR (for extreme and non-extreme conditions), whereas the high- (spatial and temporal) resolution NARR data are more suitable for modeling extreme cyclonic events (i.e., hurricanes) in this region.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans

A comprehensive field experiment devoted to the study of coastal processes on a micro-tidal beach... more A comprehensive field experiment devoted to the study of coastal processes on a micro-tidal beach was conducted from March 30th to April 12th 2014 in Sisal, Yucatán México. Wave conditions in the study area are controlled by local (i.e., sea-breezes) and meso-scale (i.e., Nortes) meteorological events. Simultaneous measurements of waves, tides, winds, currents, sediment transport, runup, and beach morphology were obtained in this experiment. Very dense nearshore instrumentation arrays allow us the study of the cross-/along- shore variability of surf/swash zone dynamics during different forcing conditions. Strong sea-breeze wind events produced a diurnal cycle with a maximum wind speed of 14 m/s. The persistent sea-breeze system forces small-amplitude (Hs<1 m) short-period (Tp<4 s) NE waves approaching with a high incidence wave angle. These wave conditions drive westward alongshore currents of up to 0.6 m/s in the inner surf zone and hence produce an active sediment transport ...

A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and fl... more A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and flooding for the Yucatan coast is presented. Firstly, a 30-year wave hindcast is employed in order to characterize the coastal storms by creating a 5-class storm scale in terms of wave information. Subsequently, the storm classification is converted to one based on the consequences over 26 beach profile sections located along the Yucatan coast. The storm consequences were classified according to their flood and erosion potential by means of parametric and numerical model results which are correlated with key beach characteristics such as beach width and maximum beach height. According to the obtained results, the storms were characterized in five different categories and it was found that the Yucatan coast presents higher threat to flood than to erosion during the impact of storms.

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

This study applies three different methods to assess the flood risk and damage from the strongest... more This study applies three different methods to assess the flood risk and damage from the strongest high-pressure cold front (locally known as ‘Norte’) event in terms of the residual tide from 30 years (1979–2008) of data for Progreso, Yucatan. The most important difference between the three methods is the estimation of flood vulnerability for Progreso. The first method, proposed by Mexico’s National Center for the Prevention of Disasters (CENAPRED) and used by the Mexican government is based mostly on economic asset (household goods) values and flood impacts. The second (CENAPREDv2) and third (FRI) methods are proposals for assessing risk that include 17 socioeconomic indicators. The former includes economic asset values, as is the case for CENAPRED, while the latter does not. The main results of this study show that the modeled ‘Norte’ event flooded 25% of Progreso’s city blocks, with an estimated economic flood risk of USD16,266(CENAPRED)andUSD 16,266 (CENAPRED) and USD16,266(CENAPRED)andUSD 223,779 (CENAPREDv2), and flood...

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Coastal flooding in the northern Yucatán Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events t... more Coastal flooding in the northern Yucatán Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events triggered by high-pressure cold front systems. This study evaluates the hydrodynamic processes of the Chelem lagoon, Mexico and the flooding threat from cold fronts for the neighbouring town of Progreso. A 30-year water-level hindcast (excluding wave setup) was performed because of the lack of long-term tide gauge records. In order to assess the relative contribution from wave setup and residual and astronomical tides to total flooding, the two worst storm scenarios in terms of maximum residual tide (Event A) and maximum water level (Event B) were simulated. Numerical results suggest that during Event A the wave setup contribution reaches 0.35 at the coast and 0.17 m inside the lagoon, and these values are smaller for Event B (0.30 and 0.14 m, respectively). Results of the effect of the tidal phase on wave setup and residual sea level show that (i) the wave setup contribution increases during ebb tide and decreases during flood tide at the Chelem inlet, (ii) the residual tide is larger (smaller) near low (high) or receding (rising) tide, and (iii) maximum flooding occurs when the storm peak coincides with rising or high tide. The numerical results confirm the important role of wave setup on the assessment of coastal flooding in micro-tidal coastal environments.

Coastal Engineering Proceedings

Sandy beaches provide habitat and natural protection to coastal areas against extreme events. Bea... more Sandy beaches provide habitat and natural protection to coastal areas against extreme events. Beach erosion is ubiquitous of coastlines around the world and is very important given the implications in the loss of land and infrastructure in coastal areas. This problem is particularly relevant in low-lying coasts, with shallow and extended continental shelves, considering the increasing trends on the frequency, intensity of storms (waves, currents and surges), and the sea level rise due to climate change. Mitigation measures encompass different approaches including soft and hard engineering solutions. The Yucatan coast (Mexico) has experienced beach erosion over the past decades. More recently, detached breakwaters have been constructed to mitigate beach erosion. Thus, we investigate both permeable and impermeable structures performance in this area.

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Thirty-year time series of hindcast wave data were analysed for 10 coastal locations along the ea... more Thirty-year time series of hindcast wave data were analysed for 10 coastal locations along the eastern Mexican coast to obtain information about storm events occurring in the region, with the goal of examining the possible presence of interannual trends in the number of storm-wave events and their main features (wave height, duration and energy content). The storms were defined according to their significant wave height and duration, and the events were classified as related to either tropical cyclones or Norte events. The occurrence and characteristics of both types of events were analysed independently. There is no statistically significant change in the number of storm-wave events related to Nortes or their characteristics during the study period. However, there is a subtle increase in the number of events related to tropical cyclones in the western Caribbean region and a more evident increase in wave height and energy content of these events.

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions

Coastal flooding in the Yucatan Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events triggered ... more Coastal flooding in the Yucatan Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events triggered by high-pressure cold fronts systems passing through the Gulf of Mexico. To assess coastal flood hazards, this study uses a thirty-year water level hindcast, and considers the contribution of wave setup and the role of tidal hydrodynamics. To diagnose the mechanisms controlling the water levels, extreme sea level occurrence probability at Progreso Port was performed to identify the two worst storms in terms of maximum residual tide (Event A), and maximum water level (Event B). Numerical results suggest that during Event A the wave setup contribution reaches 0.35 m at the coast and 0.17 m inside the back-barrier lagoon, while these values are smaller for Event B (0.30 m and 0.14 m, respectively). Besides, numerical results of the effect of the astronomical tidal phase on the wave set-up and the residual sea level show that: (i) the wave set-up is tidally modula...

Journal of Coastal Research, 2006

The impact of storms in the Catalonian coast is analyzed by classifying storms terms of their bea... more The impact of storms in the Catalonian coast is analyzed by classifying storms terms of their beach erosion potential. This follows a two-step procedure in which, first, the storm-induced erosion is simulated using a beach profile evolution model (SBEACH). The coastal response is characterized using two simple parameters, beach retreat and eroded volume from the inner part of the profile. The second step involves looking for a beach erosion potential parameter that when fed with synthetic information on storm characteristics yields erosion values (beach retreat and eroded volume) similar to those calculated with the SBEACH model. To do this, several beach profile change predictors were tested and, although some of them gave reasonable results, it was found that the inclusion of the storm duration within each predictor significantly improved their performance. Thus, the storm duration was identified as a key variable in parametric prediction of storm-induced erosion. Moreover, to predict beach erosion on different profile types, predictors that explicitly include beach slope have to be used. Here we propose one parameter combining wave storm and beach characteristics (wave height, period and storm duration, sediment grain size and beach slope). This was used to estimate beach erosion induced by each of the recorded storms. From this, a 5-class storm scale based on the erosion potential (eroded volume and induced beach retreat) was produced.

Wave model Third generation spectral wave model MIKE 21 SW model was used using mesh and bathymet... more Wave model Third generation spectral wave model MIKE 21 SW model was used using mesh and bathymetry shown in Fig. 2. The model is formulated in terms of mean wave direction, θ, and the relative angular frequency, σ, where the action density, N(σ,θ) is related to the energy density, E(σ,θ) by: For large applications, the wave action balance equation is formulated in spherical coordinates, where the evolution of the wave spectrum in the position given by latitude ϕ and longitude λ, at a particular time t, is given as follows: The energy source term S, represents a superposition of source functions that describe the multiple physical phenomena and is given by: where S in represents the wind energy input given by a linear and a non-linear growth rate, S nl represents the non-linear wave-wave interaction, such as quadruplet-wave interactions and triad-wave interactions, S ds is the energy dissipation due to whitecapping, S bot is the energy dissipation due to bottom friction and S surf i...

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 2015

We present a downscaling approach for the study of wave-induced extreme water levels at a locatio... more We present a downscaling approach for the study of wave-induced extreme water levels at a location on a barrier island in Yucatan (Mexico). Wave information from a 30 year wave hindcast is validated with in situ measurements at 8 m water depth. The Maximum Dissimilarity Algorithm is employed for the selection of 600 representative cases, encompassing different wave characteristics and tidal level combinations. The selected cases are propagated from 8 m water depth till the shore using the coupling of a third-generation wave model and a phase-resolving non-hydrostatic Nonlinear Shallow Water Equations model. Extreme wave runup, <i>R</i>_2%, is estimated for the simulated cases and can be further employed to reconstruct the 30 year…

The Proceedings of the Coastal Sediments 2015, 2015

Journal of Coastal Research, 2013

A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and fl... more A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and flooding for the Yucatan coast is presented. Firstly, a 30-year wave hindcast is employed in order to characterize the coastal storms by creating a 5-class storm scale in terms of wave information. Subsequently, the storm classification is converted to one based on the consequences over 26 beach profile sections located along the Yucatan coast. The storm consequences were classified according to their flood and erosion potential by means of parametric and numerical model results which are correlated with key beach characteristics such as beach width and maximum beach height. According to the obtained results, the storms were characterized in five different categories and it was found that the Yucatan coast presents higher threat to flood than to erosion during the impact of storms.

Storms along the Catalonian coast previously classified in terms of their energy content are re-a... more Storms along the Catalonian coast previously classified in terms of their energy content are re-analyzed to take into account their erosion potential effects on the coast. This was done in two-step procedure. The first step consists in modeling their effects on two representative beach profiles by using SBEACH. The coastal response was characterized through two bulk erosion parameters, beach retreat and eroded volume. In the second step, the effort was devoted to look for a parametric way to estimate the storm erosion potential in such a way that by simply using synthetic information on storm characteristics, similar bulk erosion values to the obtained by using SBEACH be obtained. To do this, several beach profile change dimensionless predictors were tested. Although the use of some of these predictors gave reasonable predictions, it was found that the inclusion of the storm duration was a key variable to reduce the scatter in the response. Moreover, to properly reproduce reflective and dissipative beach profile erosion, predictors explicitly including beach slope have to be used. Here we propose to use the JA parameter multiplied by the storm duration. Using the JA t parameter a final 5-classes scale based on the erosion potential and beach retreat ranging from I (lowest erosion potential) to V (highest erosion potential) was obtained.

Coastal Engineering Proceedings, 2012

The Yucatan coastline has been experiencing beach erosion during the past few decades; the erosio... more The Yucatan coastline has been experiencing beach erosion during the past few decades; the erosion has reached critical points at some locations such as the Chelem beach, located near the Progreso Pier. Despite this problem, only few studies have been devoted in order to investigate the role of coastal structures on explaining the high erosion rates reported at this location. Therefore, the aim of this work is to evaluate the effects of the Progreso Pier on the wave transformation and alongshore sediment transport in the study area. Field surveys were conducted in a monthly basis in order to estimate the erosion rates and wave conditions with an ADCP installed at 8 m water depth. The field information confirmed the high erosional trends (O(1)m/year) that explain coastal infrastructure damage and property losses. The wave measurements were employed as the forcing of a wind-wave numerical model (MIKE 21 SW). The numerical model is implemented in the study area for two different scenar...

Coastal Engineering 2008, 2009

ABSTRACT Beach erosion occurs at a number of time scales and is commonly studied either in plan o... more ABSTRACT Beach erosion occurs at a number of time scales and is commonly studied either in plan or profile shape. The present state of the art has not paid enough attention to the effects of storm shapes on the resulting erosion. Issues such as the resulting erosion or profile shape as a function of wave storm shape, storm growth rate or decay rate, storm duration and storm direction have not been adequately solved. The aim of this paper is to examine the uncertainties in assessing beach erosion for the main wave storm features. This has included the definition of what is a wave storm, the calculation of statistical parameters from an inevitably limited storm sample and the dispersion in correlations between &amp;quot;main&amp;quot; variables such a storm duration and peak significant wave height during the storm. The performed morphodynamic calculations show a non-negligible sensitivity of eroded volumes and shoreline recession to wave and surge drivers, consistent with the present state of art.

Journal of Coastal Research, 2012

The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) consists of an international group of experts... more The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) consists of an international group of experts who work on the development of a range of bathymetric data sets and data products, with the aim of providing the most authoritative, publicly-available bathymetric grids for the world's oceans. GEBCO operates under the joint auspices of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. This document provides information on GEBCO's latest gridded product, the GEBCO_08 Grid. Find out more about GEBCO from our web site: www.gebco.net Inclusion of the Caspian Sea grid into the GEBCO_08 Grid The grid was sampled to 30 arc-second intervals using 'grdsample' from Generic Mapping Tools (GMT, http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/). Quality control checks were carried out on the data set, looking for artifacts in the gridded data. This was done by comparing the gridded data set with the source sounding and contour data. Any artifacts noted in the grid were removed.

Applied Ocean Research, 2013

ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the wave modeling performance in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Car... more ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the wave modeling performance in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean Sea employing three different wind reanalysis data. Wind reanalysis is employed as the main forcing in wave generation/propagation numerical models. While the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWFs) ERA-40 reanalyses have been previously assessed in the performance for wave modeling, ECMWF&amp;#39;s ERA-interim and in particular NCEP&amp;#39;s North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) are more recent reanalyses. They both provide better resolution and description of the wind fields and have not been evaluated for long-term wave modeling. Therefore, the aim of this work is the assessment of the three different wind reanalyses on the wave hindcast performance. Attention is drawn on the wind reanalysis capability for predicting both mean and extreme wave conditions during two different periods: (i) an anomalous year where cyclonic events dominate the extreme wave climate in the region (2005); and (ii) a year with the wave climate dominated by synoptic events (2006). A third generation wave model, forced by the different wind reanalysis data, is calibrated with National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoys observations. Wind reanalysis data allow a consistent implementation of third generation wave models in order to predict the mean wave climate (correlation coefficient ∼0.84 for NCEP/NCAR, 0.94 for ERA-interim, 0.92 for NARR) for applied ocean studies. Numerical results revealed that both ERA-interim and NARR improve the wave modeling performance with respect to NCEP/NCAR (for extreme and non-extreme conditions), whereas the high- (spatial and temporal) resolution NARR data are more suitable for modeling extreme cyclonic events (i.e., hurricanes) in this region.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans

A comprehensive field experiment devoted to the study of coastal processes on a micro-tidal beach... more A comprehensive field experiment devoted to the study of coastal processes on a micro-tidal beach was conducted from March 30th to April 12th 2014 in Sisal, Yucatán México. Wave conditions in the study area are controlled by local (i.e., sea-breezes) and meso-scale (i.e., Nortes) meteorological events. Simultaneous measurements of waves, tides, winds, currents, sediment transport, runup, and beach morphology were obtained in this experiment. Very dense nearshore instrumentation arrays allow us the study of the cross-/along- shore variability of surf/swash zone dynamics during different forcing conditions. Strong sea-breeze wind events produced a diurnal cycle with a maximum wind speed of 14 m/s. The persistent sea-breeze system forces small-amplitude (Hs<1 m) short-period (Tp<4 s) NE waves approaching with a high incidence wave angle. These wave conditions drive westward alongshore currents of up to 0.6 m/s in the inner surf zone and hence produce an active sediment transport ...

A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and fl... more A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and flooding for the Yucatan coast is presented. Firstly, a 30-year wave hindcast is employed in order to characterize the coastal storms by creating a 5-class storm scale in terms of wave information. Subsequently, the storm classification is converted to one based on the consequences over 26 beach profile sections located along the Yucatan coast. The storm consequences were classified according to their flood and erosion potential by means of parametric and numerical model results which are correlated with key beach characteristics such as beach width and maximum beach height. According to the obtained results, the storms were characterized in five different categories and it was found that the Yucatan coast presents higher threat to flood than to erosion during the impact of storms.

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

This study applies three different methods to assess the flood risk and damage from the strongest... more This study applies three different methods to assess the flood risk and damage from the strongest high-pressure cold front (locally known as ‘Norte’) event in terms of the residual tide from 30 years (1979–2008) of data for Progreso, Yucatan. The most important difference between the three methods is the estimation of flood vulnerability for Progreso. The first method, proposed by Mexico’s National Center for the Prevention of Disasters (CENAPRED) and used by the Mexican government is based mostly on economic asset (household goods) values and flood impacts. The second (CENAPREDv2) and third (FRI) methods are proposals for assessing risk that include 17 socioeconomic indicators. The former includes economic asset values, as is the case for CENAPRED, while the latter does not. The main results of this study show that the modeled ‘Norte’ event flooded 25% of Progreso’s city blocks, with an estimated economic flood risk of USD16,266(CENAPRED)andUSD 16,266 (CENAPRED) and USD16,266(CENAPRED)andUSD 223,779 (CENAPREDv2), and flood...

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Coastal flooding in the northern Yucatán Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events t... more Coastal flooding in the northern Yucatán Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events triggered by high-pressure cold front systems. This study evaluates the hydrodynamic processes of the Chelem lagoon, Mexico and the flooding threat from cold fronts for the neighbouring town of Progreso. A 30-year water-level hindcast (excluding wave setup) was performed because of the lack of long-term tide gauge records. In order to assess the relative contribution from wave setup and residual and astronomical tides to total flooding, the two worst storm scenarios in terms of maximum residual tide (Event A) and maximum water level (Event B) were simulated. Numerical results suggest that during Event A the wave setup contribution reaches 0.35 at the coast and 0.17 m inside the lagoon, and these values are smaller for Event B (0.30 and 0.14 m, respectively). Results of the effect of the tidal phase on wave setup and residual sea level show that (i) the wave setup contribution increases during ebb tide and decreases during flood tide at the Chelem inlet, (ii) the residual tide is larger (smaller) near low (high) or receding (rising) tide, and (iii) maximum flooding occurs when the storm peak coincides with rising or high tide. The numerical results confirm the important role of wave setup on the assessment of coastal flooding in micro-tidal coastal environments.

Coastal Engineering Proceedings

Sandy beaches provide habitat and natural protection to coastal areas against extreme events. Bea... more Sandy beaches provide habitat and natural protection to coastal areas against extreme events. Beach erosion is ubiquitous of coastlines around the world and is very important given the implications in the loss of land and infrastructure in coastal areas. This problem is particularly relevant in low-lying coasts, with shallow and extended continental shelves, considering the increasing trends on the frequency, intensity of storms (waves, currents and surges), and the sea level rise due to climate change. Mitigation measures encompass different approaches including soft and hard engineering solutions. The Yucatan coast (Mexico) has experienced beach erosion over the past decades. More recently, detached breakwaters have been constructed to mitigate beach erosion. Thus, we investigate both permeable and impermeable structures performance in this area.

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Thirty-year time series of hindcast wave data were analysed for 10 coastal locations along the ea... more Thirty-year time series of hindcast wave data were analysed for 10 coastal locations along the eastern Mexican coast to obtain information about storm events occurring in the region, with the goal of examining the possible presence of interannual trends in the number of storm-wave events and their main features (wave height, duration and energy content). The storms were defined according to their significant wave height and duration, and the events were classified as related to either tropical cyclones or Norte events. The occurrence and characteristics of both types of events were analysed independently. There is no statistically significant change in the number of storm-wave events related to Nortes or their characteristics during the study period. However, there is a subtle increase in the number of events related to tropical cyclones in the western Caribbean region and a more evident increase in wave height and energy content of these events.

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions

Coastal flooding in the Yucatan Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events triggered ... more Coastal flooding in the Yucatan Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events triggered by high-pressure cold fronts systems passing through the Gulf of Mexico. To assess coastal flood hazards, this study uses a thirty-year water level hindcast, and considers the contribution of wave setup and the role of tidal hydrodynamics. To diagnose the mechanisms controlling the water levels, extreme sea level occurrence probability at Progreso Port was performed to identify the two worst storms in terms of maximum residual tide (Event A), and maximum water level (Event B). Numerical results suggest that during Event A the wave setup contribution reaches 0.35 m at the coast and 0.17 m inside the back-barrier lagoon, while these values are smaller for Event B (0.30 m and 0.14 m, respectively). Besides, numerical results of the effect of the astronomical tidal phase on the wave set-up and the residual sea level show that: (i) the wave set-up is tidally modula...

Journal of Coastal Research, 2006

The impact of storms in the Catalonian coast is analyzed by classifying storms terms of their bea... more The impact of storms in the Catalonian coast is analyzed by classifying storms terms of their beach erosion potential. This follows a two-step procedure in which, first, the storm-induced erosion is simulated using a beach profile evolution model (SBEACH). The coastal response is characterized using two simple parameters, beach retreat and eroded volume from the inner part of the profile. The second step involves looking for a beach erosion potential parameter that when fed with synthetic information on storm characteristics yields erosion values (beach retreat and eroded volume) similar to those calculated with the SBEACH model. To do this, several beach profile change predictors were tested and, although some of them gave reasonable results, it was found that the inclusion of the storm duration within each predictor significantly improved their performance. Thus, the storm duration was identified as a key variable in parametric prediction of storm-induced erosion. Moreover, to predict beach erosion on different profile types, predictors that explicitly include beach slope have to be used. Here we propose one parameter combining wave storm and beach characteristics (wave height, period and storm duration, sediment grain size and beach slope). This was used to estimate beach erosion induced by each of the recorded storms. From this, a 5-class storm scale based on the erosion potential (eroded volume and induced beach retreat) was produced.

Wave model Third generation spectral wave model MIKE 21 SW model was used using mesh and bathymet... more Wave model Third generation spectral wave model MIKE 21 SW model was used using mesh and bathymetry shown in Fig. 2. The model is formulated in terms of mean wave direction, θ, and the relative angular frequency, σ, where the action density, N(σ,θ) is related to the energy density, E(σ,θ) by: For large applications, the wave action balance equation is formulated in spherical coordinates, where the evolution of the wave spectrum in the position given by latitude ϕ and longitude λ, at a particular time t, is given as follows: The energy source term S, represents a superposition of source functions that describe the multiple physical phenomena and is given by: where S in represents the wind energy input given by a linear and a non-linear growth rate, S nl represents the non-linear wave-wave interaction, such as quadruplet-wave interactions and triad-wave interactions, S ds is the energy dissipation due to whitecapping, S bot is the energy dissipation due to bottom friction and S surf i...

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 2015

We present a downscaling approach for the study of wave-induced extreme water levels at a locatio... more We present a downscaling approach for the study of wave-induced extreme water levels at a location on a barrier island in Yucatan (Mexico). Wave information from a 30 year wave hindcast is validated with in situ measurements at 8 m water depth. The Maximum Dissimilarity Algorithm is employed for the selection of 600 representative cases, encompassing different wave characteristics and tidal level combinations. The selected cases are propagated from 8 m water depth till the shore using the coupling of a third-generation wave model and a phase-resolving non-hydrostatic Nonlinear Shallow Water Equations model. Extreme wave runup, <i>R</i>_2%, is estimated for the simulated cases and can be further employed to reconstruct the 30 year…

The Proceedings of the Coastal Sediments 2015, 2015